21 Kids' Movies And TV Shows Where — Let's Face It — The Kids Were The WORST And The Adults Were Clearly In The Right (2024)

Recently, Reddit user Tall_Ad_9844 asked, "Which teen movie makes you side with the adults more as you get older?" and there were a LOT of good points made. Here are 21 movies and TV shows where, TBH, the parents/adults were kind of in the right.

1. "Twilight. Charlie got put through so much because Bella just HAD to date a vampire."

Summit Entertainment

—u/grosselisse

"Charlie is the most underrated character. He was so loving the whole time. He knew in his heart he couldn't protect Bella, but he tried his absolute hardest."

—u/Literatureidiot

"I'm currently watching the Twilight Saga for nostalgia reasons, and Charlie Swan was trying so hard to be a good dad to Bella and man, it's painful watching her be an asshole teenager."

—u/OkSummer9258

2. "Ferris Bueller's Day Off. As a teen, I thought Ferris was the coolest, but now, as an adult, I totally get where the adults are coming from. That kid was trouble!"

Paramount Pictures

—u/Lonely_Square_489

"100%. Obviously, Mr. Rooney lost his mind and does some very inappropriate (and illegal) things in trying to catch Ferris, but he's right to think he's a little asshole that gets away with murder. Ditto for the sister. Ferris is also terrible to Cameron."

—u/AHorseNamedPhil

3. "The Suite Life of Zack and Cody. Mr. Moseby was just trying to keep the hotel and its (and his) reputation from being royally ruined by two reckless kids."

4. "Pretty Little Liars. Why did they make it out like Aria's parents were the villains because they wouldn't let her be in a relationship with her teacher, who was in his early to mid-twenties when she was about 16? I'd be thanking them."

5. "A Goofy Movie. Goofy just wanted a nice road trip with his son, and Max was being a monumental douche the whole time, and then lied and derailed the whole trip just to impress a girl that he'll never speak to again after high school."

6. "Dennis the Menace. STOP TOUCHING THINGS. DON'T TOUCH HIS STUFF. f*ck. MENACE."

7. "Halloweentown! When Marnie is telling her mom that she's an adult but is all of 13 years old, I want to shake her shoulders. When I was a kid, I was like, 'f*ck yeah, Marnie! Your mom's a jerk.' Turns out, no. Her mom was legitimate in just wanting to live a peaceful suburban life without the chaos that magic brought into their lives."

8. "Labyrinth. Sarah was such an ass to her dad and stepmom. From the scenes in the movie, it didn't look like they were even remotely mean to her, nor was her stepmom verbally abusive. Yeah, the babysitting sucks, I get that, but Sarah was such a brat and unnecessarily mean to the baby in the beginning. :( I didn't notice all of that until I watched it for the first time in years last night."

9. "High School Musical 2. The manager at the country club just wanted to keep his job and have his employees do their jobs, and they got so upset when he told them to work when they were on the clock."

10. "In Home Alone 2, the hotel workers were kinda portrayed as bad people. They didn't do anything wrong, though! Kevin told them his dad was staying there — he had the credit card. They were suspicious and went into his room and saw his 'dad,' so they bought his story...until they found out he had a stolen credit card and tried to kick him out. Then Kevin's mom comes up there and gets pissed off at THEM! Like...lady, YOU lost your child!"

11. "Star Wars. Dammit, Luke, you have responsibilities here on the farm! You can go goof around at Tachi Station with your good-fer-nuthin' friends after the harvest!"

12. "Malcolm in the Middle. As a kid, I thought the boys were great, and Lois was an asshole. As an adult with kids, I fully understand Lois and Hal."

13. "Father of the Bride. When I was young and watched it, I thought Steve Martin was a grumpy older man. But when I rewatched it as an adult, damn, he is the only sane person in that movie."

14. "In Fast Times at Ridgemont High (aka the greatest movie, like, ever), I used to view Mr. Hand as a humorless killjoy. I now see him as a caring, dedicated teacher."

15. "I rewatched The Lizzie McGuire Movie recently since watching as a kid and realized that Ms. Ungermeyer was making all the right moves as a responsible chaperone of a group of kids entering high school going on an international trip to Italy. As a kid, I thought she was a mean dictator. I cracked up at the scene where Paolo says hi to Ms. Ungermeyer after flirting with Lizzie outside the cheese store or whatever, and she looks at Lizzie and tells her to watch out for pickpockets."

16. Dirty Dancing — "Someone really should put Baby in the corner."

17. "Ticket to Paradise. It starred George Clooney and Julia Roberts as extremely bitterly divorced parents. Their daughter graduates college and has a great career lined up for her. The daughter goes on a vacation to Bali with a friend to celebrate, where she quickly falls in love with a local and decides she is going to marry him and stay there."

18. "I love Kitty and Red [from That '70s Show]! They're the perfect authority for teens to rebel against. They're not so scary that you can't go to them with actual trouble, but scary enough that you better do everything you can to solve your own problems before confessing to them. They're welcoming enough to ignore the hotboxing their basem*nt and eating all their snacks but stern enough to expect you to clean up after yourself and not be too loud."

19. "Animal House. At best, the Deltas are destructive jerks who are not fit to be part of the college community. At worst, they're destructive criminals. Dean Wormer may have gone too far with his methods, but he wasn't wrong with his motivation."

20. "The Little Mermaid. You can't blame Triton for being terrified for his daughter after what happened to his wife (kidnapped and murdered by pirates). Also, Ariel is 16 — she ain't old enough to make her own decisions. She's out there almost getting eaten by sharks, so don't pretend like her exploring is harmless."

21. And finally..."Most Disney movies. No, Ariel, you can't just get with a man you haven't properly met. No, Belle, you have Stockholm syndrome. Don't marry your kidnapper. No, Cinderella, don't leave with the man who needs magic to recognize you. No, Aurora, you're not in love. You just saw something new and sparkly and got wowed by it. No, Rapunzel, you can't just run away from your protected residence with a man you just met. ... Tiana is the only sensible person if you can overlook her furry (here slimy) tendencies."

What movie or show did you watch as a kid or teenager where you now side with the adults/parents? Let us know in the comments!

Submissions have been edited for length/clarity.